The Astley Cooper School’s attendance target is 96%.
All parents and students are asked to support our expectations relating to attendance and punctuality:

Attendance

Please observe the following procedures with regard to absence from school:

If your child is unable to attend school due to illness, please telephone the school before 8.25am, selecting the attendance option. An answer phone is available out of office hours to leave details on; please leave your name, your child's name, tutor group and reason for absence repeating your child’s name at the end of the message. This process needs to be repeated on each day of absence as it is a legal requirement you inform the school of any absences.

If you fail to inform the school of your child’s absence, a ‘Truancy Call’ message will be sent to your mobile/home number asking you to make contact with the school immediately.  This can be done by replying to the text message or contacting our absence line on 01442 394141.

If we do not receive a call or message from you explaining your child’s absence, this will be marked as an unauthorised absence. 

Please give plenty of notice for any planned absence. We would appreciate all dental and non-urgent medical appointments being made out of school hours. If you have an appointment within the school day, please ask the receptionist to provide you with a dated appointment card for our records.

Leave of absence for holiday purposes will not be authorised. This follows The Department for Education and Hertfordshire County Council regulations.

Punctuality 

We understand that adverse circumstances will very occasionally prevent students from arriving on time at school but ask that all parents help their children to adhere to the school rules regarding punctuality:

Students should arrive at school on time and be in their form rooms by 8.25am.

Students arriving late after 9.00am should sign in at the Attendance Office and explain their lateness and inform their Form Tutor at the next registration.

The morning register closes at 9.00am.  By law, we have to mark students arriving after this without an acceptable reason as unauthorised absence

Students who are persistently late or absent from school will be brought to the attention of their Head of Year and Catherine Fairnell, Local Authority Attendance Officer.

Fixed Penalty Notice

National Threshold

A single consistent national threshold for when a Penalty Notice must be considered by ALL schools in England, this is:

• 10 sessions (usually equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period.
• These sessions do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of a combination of any type of unauthorised absence.
• For example, a 5-day unauthorised leave of absence would meet the national threshold.
• The 10-school week period can span different terms or school years.

First Offence

The first time a Penalty Notice is issued for unauthorised absence, the fine amount will be:

• £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days.
• If not paid within 21 days, the fine will increase to £160 per parent, per child, payable between the 22nd and 28th day.

Second Offence (within 3 years)

The second time a Penalty Notice is issued for unauthorised absence, a reduced rate is not available. The amount therefore will be:

• £160 per parent, per child – payable within 28 days.

Third Offence and Any Further Offences (within 3 years)

The third time an offence is committed, a Penalty Notice WILL NOT be issued, and the case will be presented straight to the Magistrate’s Court:

• Prosecution can result in criminal records and fines of up to £2,500.
• Cases found guilty in a Magistrates Court can show on the parent’s future DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) certificate (Disclosure and Barring Service) due to a ‘failure to safeguard a child’s education’.